Caleb Wilfinger
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After a long and eventful college football regular season, the most wonderful time of the year is here. Bowl season has arrived and with it comes a myriad of interesting games between teams that we don’t often see paired up against each other in a neutral site setting. This year’s installment of the Peach Bowl features the Ole Miss Rebels against the Penn State Nittany Lions. Will the Rebels finish a terrific 2023 season with a flourish, or can Penn State rack up 11 wins one more time in James Franklin’s tenure? Here is my Ole Miss vs Penn State Same Game Parlay for Saturday’s matchup, which will be televised starting at 12:00 pm ET on ESPN.
Read our full Ole Miss vs Penn State predictions
Ole Miss ML (+165)
KeAndre Lambert-Smith to score a touchdown (+194)
NCAAF Same Game Parlay odds: +677
One of the benefits of Same Game Parlays, of course, is that you can use non-correlated plays to juice up the odds. That is the plan here, as Ole Miss winning does not necessarily correlate with KeAndre Lambert-Smith finding the end zone. Let’s break down each of the legs.
Ole Miss Rebels ML over Penn State Nittany Lions (+165)
Each of these teams — and programs in general — are quite similar. Both Ole Miss and Penn State are sitting at 10-2, with their only only losses coming from teams that finished in the top 10. We also know that neither team is majorly affected by opt-outs, but the Rebels enter this contest at practically full strength. Penn State will be without defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, along with a few key defensive players heading to the NFL Draft. There’s also the matter of Penn State’s inconsistent offense, so the Nittany Lions have relied on their defense several times throughout the season. Considering that Ole Miss ranks 15th in total offense and 12th in passing efficiency, I’m expecting a rock solid effort from Lane Kiffin’s offense in a big spot.
Ole Miss has consistently come up with big plays on offense all season, which should continue against a Penn State defense that struggled to close out drives in the red zone even at full strength. Although the Rebels’ 43rd-ranked red-zone offense isn’t outstanding, the Nittany Lions rank 113th in red zone defense on the year as well, so finishing drives shouldn’t be an issue. When it comes down to it, I have faith in the high-octane Ole Miss offense to control the pace of the game, so let’s take them to win outright.
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KeAndre Lambert-Smith to score a touchdown (+194)
While I do think Ole Miss wins the game, this is too good of a number on KeAndre Lambert-Smith to pass up. Penn State’s top wideout has been the only receiving target to consistently have a connection with Drew Allar all season long. Outside of a couple of quiet games against Michigan and Michigan State to end the season, Lambert-Smith registered at least 4 receptions in each contest in 2023. While he only recorded 4 touchdowns, that could be explained by some of Penn State’s lack of explosive passing plays and more conservative outlook on offense. Given that we’re now in a bowl game, I expect Franklin to let the Nittany Lions air it out a bit more, and that helps out Lambert-Smith as the best deep threat on the roster. Lambert-Smith had a touchdown in last season’s Rose Bowl, so let’s look for a follow-up effort to that performance.
Don’t miss out on our college football mega parlay for today’s bowl games at +870 odds
